Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Shares Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares dropped 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $121.99 and last traded at $124.07. Approximately 8,736,005 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 11,304,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QCOM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Qualcomm from $157.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Qualcomm in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Qualcomm from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.77.

Qualcomm Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $137.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.74. The stock has a market cap of $132.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 1.28.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The wireless technology company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.12. Qualcomm had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 44.09%. The firm had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.41 earnings per share. Qualcomm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Qualcomm has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.650 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Qualcomm Incorporated will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Qualcomm Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Qualcomm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.55%.

Qualcomm declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the wireless technology company to buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Heather S. Ace sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.00, for a total transaction of $438,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,245,841. This represents a 16.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Akash J. Palkhiwala sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.65, for a total transaction of $458,787.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,202.35. The trade was a 8.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,618 shares of company stock valued at $907,855. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualcomm

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter valued at $3,145,000. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Qualcomm by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 64,911 shares of the wireless technology company’s stock valued at $11,103,000 after purchasing an additional 8,130 shares in the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter valued at $145,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Qualcomm during the fourth quarter valued at $410,000. Finally, DUTCH ASSET Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Qualcomm in the fourth quarter valued at $1,563,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.35% of the company’s stock.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 1985, the company is known for its development of wireless technologies and for playing a central role in the evolution of digital cellular standards, including CDMA and subsequent generations of mobile standards. Qualcomm’s business combines the design and sale of semiconductor products with a patent licensing program for wireless technologies and related intellectual property.

The company’s product portfolio includes system-on-chip (SoC) platforms marketed under the Snapdragon brand, cellular modem and RF front-end components, connectivity solutions for Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth, and processors and platforms aimed at automotive, IoT, networking and edge-computing applications.